Many patients come into the office asking about ethnic rhinoplasty. What is ethnic rhinoplasty? Well, it varies based on what ethnicity you are. But generally speaking, in the U.S., we define ethnic rhinoplasty as someone who is likely of African-American descent or Hispanic descent or Asian descent, someone other than a northern European-Caucasian descent. That's how we tend to think of ethnic rhinoplasty.

But in my opinion, ethnic rhinoplasty is somebody who wants to maintain their ethnicity, whatever their ethnicity is. So if someone comes to me and they ask to maintain their ethnicity, fantastic. I think that's a wonderful idea, and I think it makes sense. Because if I take someone's nose and I completely alter it - if I put a Caucasian nose in an Asian woman - it doesn't look right. It just doesn't fit regardless of how perfect that outcome is. The important point is that that nose fits the face. So maintaining ethnicity, I think, is very important. But slimming the nose down, balancing the nose, reducing some of the curves, making it more fine and defined, and perhaps more feminine for female or masculine for the male - I think that's the goal. And maintaining the ethnicity of the patient, I think, is important. Because once the nose becomes noticeable, once it sticks out - even if it's a perfect nose - if it doesn't fit the face, I don't believe the outcome that was expected is achieved.